FROM WITCHCRAFT TO THE CROSS – BY Michael Morton

FROM WITCHCRAFT TO THE CROSS

September 15, 2013

MY TESTIMONY

My name is Michael. I am in my late 50s at the time I’m writing this, and until almost 5 years ago I had spent nearly 20 years heavily involved in witchcraft. Where did it all begin? Well, I think that I can go back to my late childhood and early teens. I remember reading books on mythology and any other materials on the supernatural , psychic powers, witches that I could lay my hands on. Of course I read every copy of FATE magazine I could find and when I watched programs like BEWITCHED, I wished that I could have magickal powers. I started finding books on witchcraft and devoured them. I tried many spells, but never got them to work . I think part of the reason is that as a teenager I was scatter brained and had little discipline…certainly not the kind to get spells to work. And by the way, yes they do work. As I learned later in life when I was an adult and totally committed myself to witchcraft. My high school yearbook (Notre Dame High, Cambridge MA 1972) had the note under my picture “practices witchcraft?” Over the years in my adolescence I studied and read every book I could find, and when I couldn’t afford a book I would go to the bookstores in Harvard Square and go through them, trying to memorize what I could and going home and writing it all down. Well, after high school I went to a communications college in Boston and it was then that I first heard the gospel and committed my life to Christ. I forsook witchcraft and followed after Him, but again, I lacked discipline and concentration. However, I was following Him. After graduating from college with a degree in broadcasting and journalism I worked at a variety of jobs, mostly lived at home and things were going well. It was during this time that I watched a PBS special bout religions in America, and one was about Pentecostalism. They mentioned the Assemblies of God, and I agreed with what they believed in. There was a tiny Assemblies of God church nearby and so I began attending church there.

In 1975 I made what was probably the biggest mistake of my life… I got married and it was for all the wrong reasons. She and I decided to get married because we were hanging out together and everyone else we knew were getting married. There was nothing in the line of love…and so for fifteen years we were totally miserable with each other. And now, almost 40 years later I sit and ask myself “what was I thinking?” After fifteen years and many serious issues, we broke apart permanently. The best thing of that entire time is the fact that I have a wonderful, beautiful 30 year old daughter from the marriage, and she has made me a grandfather.

But before I get into how I ended up involved in the occult, let me go on. In 1978 I joined the Air Force, where I spent over 13 years in service to the country. Military life is tough on the best of marriages, and brought out some of the worst in ours. However, I continued following the Lord and she did so too, though to a far less degree. In the years I served the Lord in a number of capacities. I’ve been a Sunday School teacher, music leader and worship leader, an announcer on a Christian radio station (WPSM, 91.1 FM Fort Walton Beach), and ultimately, while a member of a Pentecostal Church of God church in Florida was asked by the pastor to pray about becoming a minister in the denomination and coming alongside to minister with him. And so, I did and in time completed the tenure and studies required to become a licensed minister in the Pentecostal Church of God.

In 1989 it all seemed to come apart at the seams. I was assigned to Thule Air Base, Greenland which was the most difficult assignment I ever had (although I loved the beauty there). I felt disillusioned with the Air Force for their assignment there (originally I was to go elsewhere, they switched me). Meanwhile, my marriage which was already crumbling began to implode on itself and we decided to divorce. Now, in the Pentecostal Church of God, ministers are not allowed to retain their credentials if they divorce for any other reason than the other partner being unfaithful. That wasn’t the case… and so I was there… disillusioned with the military, my marriage broken irretrievably and having to give up the one thing I felt was going good…my ministerial license. And, instead of drawing closer to God I did the opposite. I blamed Him…He was after all in control of all things. And finally, I decided in a pique of anger at Him to just walk away. I cursed Him and decided I was going to go right back to witchcraft and the occult that I’d come out of years before.

The years 1989 – 2009 were a time of darkness. It didn’t seem so, but now in retrospect I see how much darkness I was in and engaged in. I joined a school of witchcraft and worked hard to be initiated. Though it did not have formal covens, I found groups and covens to work and worship with, especially after I returned home from the military (I left in 1991) and back to the Boston area where there were many wiccan/pagan groups, a variety of bookstores and occult supply stores, and of course Salem which was a mecca for witches (actually a money trap). In that time I worked a lot as a solitary witch, performing rituals and spells alone, but I also worked with a variety of traditions and groups. Ultimately, I came in contact with Silver Ravenwolf, who is a very well known author of books on witchcraft. Although her books were filled with what some consider “fluff” because it was marketed to the masses, she also had an organization of over 13 covens across the United States and Canada following traditional British witchcraft. I wanted this and after meeting with her and she learned that I’d been initiated through the Church of Wicca she invited me to join her tradition – the Black Forest Clan as an elevated elder… 3d degree. And that is where I spent the last eight plus years in the craft. I began a home study group which met every other week and soon I had others who wanted to follow the Black Forest Clan path and become initiated, and so that became my focus. In time I trained many individuals. At least one reached the third degree which is the highest level. Several others reached second degree, and there were always a few first degrees and dedicants working their way up the ladder. In 2007, Silver decided to decentralize the Black Forest Clan and almost all of the third degree witches in her tradition became “Clan Heads”…that is leaders of their own autonomous group. Now, with my own coven and my daughter coven which was run by the member who had attained the third degree I was the Clan Head for all of Massachusetts and running two covens… my own coven near Boston and overseeing my student’s coven near Worcester.

BUT GOD!!!!!!!!!!!

God wasn’t finished with me. Throughout my time in the craft, I always had been drawn to the teachings of Jesus…and incorporated them into my ethics spiritually. Around 2007 or 2008 I was scanning through late night television and found some teachings by a woman minister… and it wasn’t your usual fluff religious broadcasting. Her teachings were intellectual and cerebral and she explored the scriptures using the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek languages… and this appealed to me.. and I found myself looking for her programming.

Long story short, the Lord was already working on my heart preparing to bring me back home to Him.

After some time, I was invited to attend Calvary Chapel North Shore… and when I asked whether it wsa associated with the Calvary Chapels founded by Pastor Chuck Smith the person who invited me said “yes”. I talked to my wife and we decided to go on Easter Sunday… and that’s when the Lord grabbed us.

We entered and felt like the ceiling would cave in, but it was nice. We stood there, not recognizing any of the songs… feeling a little uncomfortable but the message was powerful… and the people very friendly. And so we decided to go back the next week.

During the following days, my wife and I also had talked about feeling that we should leave witchcraft behind… we were no longer happy serving the gods and goddesses of the pagan paths… and we both were felling drawn towards the Lord. So, the next Sunday we went. And Pastor Matt was teaching from the book of Mark. (Calvary Chapels seldom do topical preaching…they teach the entire bible, book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse). And he was teaching from the ninth chapter about the rich young ruler. And it was going well. Then he told the church to turn with him to Acts in the 17th chapter. And he began teaching about Paul on Mars Hill in Athens… where they had altars to every imaginable god and goddess… and one to the god who wasn’t known.

Wow! This was amazing to us. We were thinking about leaving a religion that worshipped and served multiple gods and goddesses! Then Pastor Matt read the verse where Paul told the people “you are entirely too superstitious!” and where Paul then exhorted the Athenians declaring who the true God was… the crucified one…the buried one…the resurrected one…Jesus Christ.

He had **NO** way of knowing that he had two witches in his auditorium that day, nor that we had been thinking about leaving witchcraft and coming to Jesus for salvation. Needless to say, at the end of the message he announced he would pray with anyone who needed prayer. The worship team walked quietly up to the platform and when he asked if anyone needed prayer to come forward, my wife and I went hand in hand to the front and prayed for salvation.

The main point of this story is that God is faithful…even though I was not. It is true that I spent 20 years in witchcraft, and spiritually, had reached the pinnacle. I was a clan head for a tradition, elevated to elder in the religion and running two covens. But THAT is not the greatest thing here… the greatest thing is that the Lord showed mercy and received me back… and that He now allows me to walk with Him and learn of Him and serve Him.

My name is Michael Morton. And I used to be a witch. But today, I am born again and walk beside the Shepherd of my soul…the one who died for me, is risen again, and is coming again in glory…the one before I gladly bow my knee and who’s name I gladly confess…that Jesus Christ is my Lord.

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